University of Houston Athletics
Women's Basketball Closes Out Home Schedule This Weekend
2/17/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 17, 2006
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GAME 24
Houston (9-14, 6-6 C-USA) vs. Tulsa (19-4, 10-2 C-USA)
Friday, Feb. 16 • 7 p.m. CST Hofheinz Pavilion (8,479) • Houston, Texas
Television: None
Radio: Houston ISP Sports Network (Internet Only). Joshua Banks (play-by-play) calls the game. Broadcast available at www.UHCougars.com starting at 6:45 p.m. CST.
The Records: Houston (9-14, 6-6 C-USA) enters on a three-game skid while Tulsa (19-4, 10-2 C-USA) has won eight in-a-row. Tulsa is looking for a 20-win season for the first time in program history.
Houston Coach Joe Curl (Wayne State `78): In his eighth season at the helm of the Cougars' program ... has a mark of 129-102 (60-54 C-USA) with Houston and a career coaching record of 267-202 in 15 years ... his program has made two-straight NCAA Tournament appearances.
Tulsa Coach Charlene Thomas-Swinson (Auburn `92): In her first season with the Golden Hurricane ... joins Tulsa after spending three seasons at Florida (2002-05), three seasons with the Orlando Miracle, now Connecticut Sun, of the WNBA (1999-2001) and three years as the head coach at St. John's (1996-98), where she earned a 24-61 record.
The Series: Tulsa leads 1-0 after winning the first meeting of the two schools 83-55, in Tulsa on Jan. 22.
Houston Looks To Stop Three-Game Skid ...
The University of Houston women's basketball team is in the midst of its third three-game losing streak this season. The Cougars are 3-0 this season when trying to snap a similar skid.
UH's offense has gone south during the past three contests as the Cougars are being outscored by nearly 10 points per game (9.3) and outrebounded by a 148-112 (-12.0) margin. Houston is also shooting under 31 percent from the field (.306) and the three-point arc (.246).
Nakazi Glover has been a bright spot as of late, averaging nearly 16 points per game (15.7) while chipping in six boards per game in the most recent losses. Tye Jackson (15.0 ppg) has missed time due to foul trouble in each of the past three contests.
Houston faces a daunting task in facing a Tulsa team that comes in with it's first 20-win season in sight. Houston native Jillian Robbins leads the league in scoring (18.5 ppg) and rebounding (13.9 rpg).
Ask Coach Curl? ...
• In conjunction with Cougar Talk with Joe Curl, an ask the coach feature has debuted on UHCougars.com. Fans can submit a question for UH's eighth-year head coach to answer on his weekly show.
• The 30-minute show, broadcast live from Irma's Southwest Grill on the corner of Austin and Texas downtown is available on www.UHCougars.com from 7:30-8 p.m. CST on selected Mondays.
• Remaining air dates are: Feb 20, Feb 27 and March 6.
Random Musings...
• In the past 10 games, UH is forcing opponents into an average of 19.9 turnovers per game, but is just 4-6 during that span.
• Houston is the only team in the league to have two players (Hawkins and Jackson) averaging more than 14.5 points per game. Hawkins (14.9 ppg) leads all first-year players in scoring and Jackson (17.6 ppg) does not appear in the overall C-USA totals because she has not played in 75% of UH's games.
• The Cougars lead C-USA in 3-point field goal percentage defense (.286), 3-pointers per game (5.70) and turnover margin (+4.09).
• Houston is 3-0 when attempting 12 or less three-pointers in a game (Prairie View A&M, East Carolina, UTEP).
• The Cougars have shot .400 or better in eight games this year and are 6-2 when achieving that mark. UH's single-game his this year came against Southern Miss (Jan. 8), a .541 (33 for 61) affair.
• UH has led at halftime in seven of its nine wins, trailing at the half in both wins over Rice (Jan. 15/Feb. 3).
• The Cougars are 2-0 when Tye Jackson has 10 or more turnovers (Prairie View A&M, East Carolina).
Scouting The Golden Hurricane ...
• Tulsa is receiving votes in both the AP (11) and ESPN/USA Today/WBCA (12) polls this week.
• They are winners of eight-straight and have a two-game lead in the C-USA standings with four to play.
• Tulsa's last loss, it's only home defeat of the season, came against UAB on Jan. 13. TU's lone road defeat in C-USA play came at UTEP on Jan. 6.
• The Golden Hurricane rank in the top-30 nationally in scoring margin (+12.4/24), field-goal percentage defense (.351/12), free throw percentage (.752/14), rebound margin (+7.8/12), won-loss percentage (.826/16) and blocks per game (5.0/t-26).
• Of the 19 statistical categories kept by the conference office, Tulsa leads in 12 of them. Houston leads three, East Carolina leads two and Rice and UTEP lead one apiece.
• Houston native Jillian Robbins (Spring, Texas/Klein HS) is the second-leading rebounder in the country, averaging 13.9 boards per game. Robbins, who leads the league in scoring (18.5 ppg) and rebounding was named C-USA Co-Player of the Week Monday.
• Kara Pongonis-Paslay leads the league and ranks eighth nationally in three-point field-goal percentage (.454).
Last Time They Met ...
• Jillian Robbins had 30 points and 16 rebounds as Tulsa handed UH an 83-55 loss at the Reynolds Center.
• Tulsa opened the game on a 25-8 run and held the lead the entire game.
• UH had one its worst offensive performance of the season, shooting 18 for 65 (.277) from the field and 10 for 32 from behind the arc.
• Robbins was 14 for 18 from the floor and also added five steals and three blocks. She hit her double-double in the first half, netting 10 points and 10 rebounds on a 5 for 7 shooting effort.
• Houston missed its first seven shots of the second half, getting on the board with a three from Sha'Ratta Hawkins at the 14:45 mark, moving the score to 52-20.
• Hawkins finished the game with 21 points, 14 of which came in the second half, courtesy of four three pointers.
• UH was within 27 at two points during the second half, but Tulsa's 58.8 percent shooting performance (30 for 51) was too much to overcome.
• Tye Jackson added 19, with 16 coming in the second half. She was 6 for 6 from the free-throw line and dished out seven assists.
• UH scored a season-low 17 points in the opening 20 minutes as the Cougars were 7 for 32 (.219) from the floor and 2 for 13 from behind the arc.
• Houston committed 12 turnovers, which Tulsa turned into 16 points. UH had two four-minute field-goal droughts and did not score for the last 2:02 of the half.
Quickies ...
• Tye Jackson, Nakazi Glover and Sha'Ratta Hawkins have tallied 86 of the Cougars 119 field goals (.723) in the past five games with all averaging over 33 minutes per game. The trio have also combined for 23 of Houston's 27 three-pointers (.851) in the last five contests.
• Jackson is tied for the C-USA lead in assists per game (5.42) in league games and is also C-USA's third-leading scorer (17.6 ppg). She does not appear in C-USA's overall statistics as she has not played in 75 percent of Houston's games.
• Jackson's 37-point performance against Rice (Jan. 15) is the top single-game effort of any C-USA player this season and is tied for the 11th-best effort nationally this season. She has averaged 17.9 ppg, 4.5 rpg and 4.6 apg in the last 10 games.
• Hawkins (14.9 ppg) leads C-USA's freshman class in scoring and blocked shots per game (1.00) and is second in rebounding (6.0 rpg) and steals (2.26 spg). Her 2.26 three-pointers per game is third in the league's overall statistics, tops among first-year student-athletes.
• Glover, who tallied her first career double-double (16 pts./10 rbs.) against Tulane (Jan. 27), has averaged 16.0 points per game and 5.6 rebounds per game UH's past five outings.
• UH has shown no fear from distance this season, leading C-USA in three-pointers per game (5.70). Four players, Kadi Creel, Hawkins, Jackson and Jasmin Moore have combined for 126 of UH's 131 triples (.961) and have attempted more three's (399) than 10 of the 11 teams in the league. Only SMU (448) ranks ahead of UH in three-point attempts.
• Houston has used 11 lineups in 23 games this season. The starting five of Emily Fryters, Glover, Hawkins, Jackson and Ryan Meyers have started nine of the past 11 games, going 5-6.
• In the past five games, UH has tallied 23 blocks, nearly equaling its total from 11 non-conference games (26).
• UH, 6-5 in 11 games at Hofheinz Pavilion this year, is averaging 67.4 ppg at home while shooting 40.3 percent (279-692) from the field and 33.2 percent (65-196) from beyond the arc. Away from its home court (3-9), Houston is averaging just 55.6 ppg and shooting 31.3 percent (237-757) from the field and 66-247 (.267) from three-point land.
Taking Care Of The Ball ...
• The Cougars set a school record with their five turnovers against Rice (Feb. 3).
• The previous single-game record was six, set on Dec. 20, 2000 in a home game against Hawai'i.
• UH is 3-2 this season when giving the ball up less than 10 times.
• Prior to this season, UH had not had less than 10 turnovers in a game in five years.
• The Cougars lead C-USA in turnover margin (+4.09) and their 353 turnovers are the lowest among league squads.
• In conference games, UH's turnover margin is +6.50 ranking at the top of the heap. The closest team to UH is SMU, ranking second at +2.0.
• Houston is averaging 11.42 steals per game in league action which leads all schools in C-USA.
• UH has just 168 turnovers in C-USA play, 12 fewer then its closest competition (UTEP/180).
C-USA Tournament Time Nears...
• The 2005 C-USA Women's Basketball Championship is scheduled for March 2-5 at SMU's Moody Coliseum in Dallas.
• All 12 C-USA teams will compete in the championship, with the winner receiving the league's automatic bid to the 2006 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament.
• The teams with the four best conference records earn first-round byes. Teams receiving a bye will be seeded 1-4.
• The remaining eight teams will be seeded 5-12 with the No. 5 seed playing No. 12, No. 6 vs. No. 11, No. 7 vs. No. 10 and No. 8 vs. No. 9. • Tickets are on sale now and available by calling the UH Athletics Ticket Office at 713-GO-COOGS.
• All tournament packages start at $50 for a reserved seat, while general admission packages are $35 and children (18 & under) start at $25.
• Individual session tickets are $15 for a reserved seat, $10 for general admission and $7 for all children 18 and under.
